Unforgiven and Forbidden
by angelgirl818
Summary: A mistake ruined Marvel's life. He was never forgiven. Winning the Hunger Games was his only chance. Nothing stood in his way, except for a fiery girl from an outside district. When everything turns upside-down, will he fall for the girl who betrayed him or the girl whom he never noticed? Written in Marvel's POV. Rated T for mild language and violence. ON MINI HIATUS
1. The Beginning

**Hi guys! It's Katie. This is my very first fanfiction! I'm honestly terrified with letting tons of people see my stories. Before, the only person who saw my stories was my best friend. Please read and review! Constructive criticism is appreciated. **

Chapter 1: The Beginning

I stood there, frozen in my own glory. This was everything that I had been working for my entire life. Silence surrounded me as I walked up to the stage, along with the other tribute. It was my last year eligible for the games, and I had finally been called. A boy stepped forward, about to volunteer, but I glared at him and he backed down. District One's female tribute, Glimmer Levy, stood next to me. She smiled a fake smile to the crowd and flirtatiously winked. I just stood there, fazed. She elbowed me in the ribs, so I snapped to my senses and smiled with her. My mother told me when I was little that image is everything.

After a few words from our escort, Glimmer and I shook hands and were led into the hallowed halls of the Justice Building. Golden decorations weaved around the walls and the marble floors. Portraits of previous District One victors stared at me as I walked to the room where I would say goodbye to my family. Not that I had much of one, though. I sighed as a few Peacekeepers took me to the room. After a minute, they left me alone to think. I sat down on the velvet couch and took a few deep breaths.

"_Calm down, Marvel_" I thought. "_This is everything you've ever wanted. Once you've won the games, everything will be forgiven._" I shuddered, remembering the horrible day that everything went wrong.

(flashback)

_I was playing with my newest toy when a knock on the door sounded. A man, in tattered clothes rushed inside the door as soon as it opened. _

"_Hello?" I asked. He ran up the stairs without answering. The next thing I knew, my mother screamed. _

"_A District 12 rebel!" she yelled. "Get out!"_

_My mother panicked, and rushed to her bedroom to protect the jewelry. I grabbed Dad's Peacekeeper gun, and followed him. I figured that it would be good practice if I ever went to the Games. The man saw the gun, and rushed into the nearest room. I gasped as he escaped to my baby sister Gemma's room. _

"_Shoot that gun, and the baby gets it," he laughed. I took my chances, and brought the sights to my eye, prepared to shoot. The rebel wasted no time, and picked up the crying Gemma and tossed her out the third-story window. Seconds later, there was a sickening sound as a body hit the ground. I shot furiously, and hit him in the shoulder. He wasn't dead, and jumped out the window himself. I didn't know what happened to him, but he was gone when I had raced down the stairs and went outside. Mother followed close behind. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Gemma's little body with blood pouring out of the skull. _

"_Marvel! How could you let in a rebel? You just let your sister be killed!" she screamed at me. I didn't say anything, just backed away to my room. I didn't cry. No, I was too strong for that. I just shut out the sounds of my mother's sobs, and the sound of planes in the sky, and zoned out._

(flashback over)

A knock on the door snapped me out of my vision. My father entered the door. My mother was nowhere in sight. Ever since that day, she had ignored my existence. When my father went on business trips, I was basically all alone. She told everyone of the accident. For years to come, people shunned me, called me a murderer, and at school people refused to talk to me. Father and I stood in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Are you okay, son?" he asked. I nodded half-heartedly. "The games will be…"

"Will Mom forgive me if I win the games?" I interrupted. Father sighed.

"As much as you want to believe it, the Hunger Games don't solve all of your problems. The Games are only the beginning, Marvel"

"So I made one mistake ten years ago! Why doesn't she expect that and get over herself?" I yelled. "No one warned me of the rebels!"

"Marvel, yes, I agree. She overreacted, but I can't change the way she thinks and neither can you."

"But.."

On that happy note, the Peacekeepers came to take my father away. I vowed to win the games, for my mother. Once everyone saw that I wasn't a disappointment, they would forgive me. They would see that I wasn't worthless. No matter what it took, I would show them.

I had no other visitors, so I was taken to the train early. I sat around the lounge, trying different pastries while I waited for Glimmer to be done with her goodbyes. After a good twenty minutes, she appeared in the doorway with our mentor, Gloss. She made her way over the chair next to me, her blonde curls bouncing behind her. Gloss took the seat across from us and stared us down for a few minutes.

"What can you do?" he asked me.

"Excuse me?" I questioned.

"Slash a sword, shoot a bow, even throw a knife. What can you do?" he repeated. I cleared my throat and shifted in the plush chair.

"I can throw a spear," I finally answered. Gloss nodded his head in clear approval.

"How about you, Blondie?" he gestured at Glimmer. Glimmer glared at him.

"I can shoot a bow," she answered proudly. I couldn't help but snicker. I had seen her at training school, and she could hardly even knock the arrow on the bow without dropping it. This time, Glimmer glared murderously at me. I put my hands up in surrender.

"Not bad, and definitely not bad looking," Gloss said, eyeing Glimmer again. "This will be a good year for District One." He rose from his chair, and looked out the window. We'll be there in about an hour. I'll be in my car if you need me. Don't need me," he finished, and left the lounge car. Glimmer and I sat quietly for a few seconds before she spoke up.

"What do you think the games will be like?"

"I don't know. I'm not a Gamemaker."

"Never mind," she said and turned to face the window. We didn't speak for the rest of the trip. I stared out the window and watched the trees pass by as we waited to get to the Capitol.

Once we got to the train platform, Glimmer's fake smile reappeared and so did mine. I had the more subtle approach, whereas Glimmer blew kisses and batted her eyelashes as she flounced to the training center. Capitol people went nuts. I waved to a group of girls, and they giggled crazily. I inwardly rolled my eyes.

Our escort led us to the Remake Center, where teams of people lived to make tributes look good. They didn't spend a long time on me, as many District One residents have similar things done to them so they look good at the reapings. Since not all of the tributes had arrived yet, I was taken to my room early.

I sighed as I walked to the bed. It wasn't as nice as my own back home, but it would have to do. I turned on the television to find the replay of the reapings. I looked good, as always. The District Two male tribute, Cato, was definitely something. He was larger than life, with an ego to match. The girl, Clove, was short, but she could probably give the boy a run for his money. Nothing else really caught my eye until District Eleven. The boy was…_huge_. I was tall, but that boy was a monster. I shuddered in delight as I imagined killing him.

As District Twelve's reapings came on, I went to turn the TV off when I heard a peculiar noise.

"I volunteer!" a girl's voice screamed. "I volunteer as tribute!" I stared at the television in amazement. A volunteer? From District Twelve? That was impossible. I couldn't take my eyes off of the girl as she revealed that she volunteered for her sister. I barely heard, but I caught that her name was Katniss. She showed no emotion, but I knew she felt terror. Her gray eyes scanned the crowd, as if looking for someone to volunteer for her. No one did, but the citizens held out three fingers to her in respect. I remember seeing the rebel man from our house show that, but he did it in mockery, not respect.

"_A brave District Twelve tribute? This will make the Games interesting,_" I thought. The boy reaped next made me laugh. The slightly plump boy made his way to the stage in silence. He tried not to show emotion, like Katniss, but failed miserably. I laughed harder when a tear fell down his cheek. What a loser.

"Marvel?" Gloss's voice called. "Get back down to the remake center. They have to put you in your costume!" I took a deep breath before leaving.

The costume that they put me in was horrifying. Feathers, sparkles, and sequins covered the jacket and pants. Worst of all, it was hot pink. How was I supposed to portray myself as manly in hot pink? I looked back at the boy from District Two, who I caught making eye contact with Glimmer. She smiled and batted an eyelash, and he winked. When she turned back around, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. He whispered to his partner and she laughed. I was put on a chariot along with Glimmer. When the horses moved, I almost fell out the back.

"Get ahold of yourself, Marvel! Don't make me look bad!" Glimmer hissed through her smile.

"I can't any more than your costume already does," I mentioned, and she seethed. I smiled in content at my victory. I spent the next few minutes waving and smiling to the crowd. Glimmer blew kisses, batted her eyes, and flipped her hair in my face, while I pretended not to notice and kept smiling. I looked up at the giant screen and saw mostly Cato, in his gladiator costume, acting cocky and smirking. Then, the screen changed. I saw flickers of orange as I adjusted my eyes to the bright lights that the screen was showing.

"_No,_" I thought to myself. "_It isn't possible!_" Yet, it was. Katniss and her District partner were on fire. Even worse, they were holding hands. A feeling of anger bubbled up inside me, but I shook my head and kept smiling.

I didn't have to look at Cato to know that he was angry at this. You could just hear his number of sponsors dropping.

"Katniss! Peeta!" The people yelled. The two weren't taken off of the screen until we had arrived at the main circle. After President Snow said some boring words of "encouragement", we went back to the training center. I went over to talk to the District Twelve tributes, but Cato beat me to it. He menacingly approached Peeta.

"Who do you think you are, Twelve?" he snarled. Peeta stuttered, but Katniss stepped up to him.

"I'm a girl. You're a monster with an ugly face. Are we done with the little introductions?" she said, and smiled sweetly. I had to hold down my laughter while Cato growled.

"I'd watch your mouth, girl." He spat when he said the word girl. "I can either kill you quickly, or painfully in the arena. Run your mouth again, and you won't get the choice."

"We'll see about that."

Cato scowled and walked away, clearly pissed at Katniss. Peeta still stood there, in shock. She whispered something in his ear, and smiled again. A pang of jealousy hit me. Without thinking, I went over to talk to her.

"Cool costume," I said. I quickly wished I could take that back, it sounded so stupid. She turned to face me so that her gray eyes met mine. A confused look went over her face.

"Thanks?" she said. The tone of her voice told me that she didn't know whether I could be trusted or not.

"Your stylist obviously knows what he is doing, unlike mine," I said, trying to lighten the mood. She gave me a quick smile, but didn't say anything else. Peeta cleared his throat.

"Well, Katniss, I think we should be going." They went to the elevator and left. I wanted to slap that boy for getting in the way.

What was happening to me?

**There it is! The first chapter is finished. I still don't know where I'm going with this story. **__**I apologize if there are some errors; I didn't do too much editing. The future chapters will be more organized, I promise! Writers honor! My older sister has gone to college now, so my main editor is gone. I hope you liked it!**

**-Katie**


	2. The Flame

**Hi! Wow, this was a quick update. I just couldn't stop writing! Oh yeah, the first chapter has been changed about four times, because I kept finding mistakes that I had to change. I still have no idea where the heck this story is going. Katniss is going to seem a little overly-sarcastic for these first few chapters. Sorry for any inconvenience. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Hunger Games, or any of these characters. Suzanne Collins is the owner of the brilliant mind that wrote the books. This is purely a fanfiction.**

**Sorry, I forgot to put that in the first chapter. Anyway, I hope you like it!**

Chapter 2- The Flame

"_Marvel!" Katniss's voice screamed. "Marvel, help me!" I ran through the woods of the arena, trying to find her. _

"_Katniss, where are you?" I yelled as I jumped over a fallen tree. I ran for what seemed like forever with no luck. Her screams got louder and more terrifying by the second. _

"_Marvel he's coming for me!" Her yell was followed by an ear-piercing scream. I looked all around. Trees, all identical, surrounded me. Katniss's voice was the only thing I heard, but it seemed to come from all directions. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that I had to save her from whoever was trying to hurt her. _

"_Marvel!" she yelled again. This time, her voice sounded different._

"Marvel!" Glimmer's yell awoke me from my slumber. I sat up with a start, and looked around. I was back in my room, and instead of Katniss, Glimmer stood before me.

"You sleep talk, you know that?" Glimmer said. I gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"You kept asking where the cat was or something. Do you have a cat at home?" She gave me a look, and not wanting to explain what I was dreaming about, I told her that I did. She left, and I got out of bed. I put on the training outfit that an Avox had put out for me and went to go eat. Gloss and Glimmer were talking about strategies when I arrived.

"Do whatever you need to do to look fierce. The Gamemakers say that they only judge you during the individual sessions, but they don't. The first impression you give is the thing that really sways your score," Gloss instructed.

"Why do we even have the individual sessions then?" Glimmer asked.

"They want to see how well you behave under pressure. Being able to throw a spear when you're alone at a still target doesn't help you too much. Also, make sure that the other tributes fear you as well. If they're scared, they're easy to kill."

"I think that is Cato's strategy," I mumbled under my breath. I took a bite out of a slice of bacon and zoned out. I already knew everything I needed to know about the games. Kill others, and don't let yourself be killed.

No matter how hard I tried to think about strategies, my mind kept wandering to Katniss. What was it about her that made me feel this way? She was just a girl from District Twelve, the dirt district. Maybe it was the way she saved her sister, unlike I had done to mine. She sacrificed herself, whereas I tried to save myself. Maybe it was the way she stood up to Cato, and didn't shy away from the beast of a tribute.

"_No,_" I told myself. "_She will only get in your way. She is just outer district scum. She is a threat to your victory._" I nodded my head to myself as Glimmer and I went to the training area.

When I got there, I eyed the rack of beautiful spears. They were my ticket to a good score, sponsors, and the victory that I needed.

Cato reached for a sword, but a man told him that he had to wait until all of the tributes arrived. Cato stepped up to the man, a good five inches taller, and said some menacing words. The man nodded and quickly left the area. Cato caught me staring, so I looked away.

Once we were free to train, I went straight for the spears. The first one I picked up was the perfect height, weight, and feel. It was almost like it was made for me. I shifted into throwing position and threw it at the nearest dummy. Of course, it went straight through the dummy's heart. I threw another spear at a farther dummy and got the same results. By then, I had gathered a small group of tributes who were in awe of my skills. One person I didn't see in the group was Katniss. She was over with Shy Boy at the snare station. I walked over to her confidently.

"Hello, Kat!" I said, in an annoyingly over joyful tone.

"Don't call me that, Marvel," she grumbled. My heart skipped a beat. She knew my name.

"Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" I asked teasingly, with the same tone.

"Shut up," she exclaimed angrily. I smiled. She was so much fun to annoy.

"Would you like some help with snares? I used to be the best in school at them!"

"Yes, that'd be lovely. How about you tie that snare around your neck and show me how to hang it on a tree?" she said, matching my tone.

"I was thinking more like…" I started, but Peeta interrupted me.

"Just leave her alone!" he said, trying to be brave. This made me mad. This had been my first real conversation with Katniss, and he ended it. I walked over to him and laughed.

"You watch your back, boy. I have more sponsors and allies than you could ever imagine. I can make your life more hell than it already is," I threatened. I really didn't have a ton of allies, just the Careers, and with Cato, I could never know how loyal they would be. Also, I didn't even know if I had one sponsor. Peeta seemed to take the bait of my empty threat, because he stepped back.

"So, Katniss, are you good at?" I asked.

"I'm not telling you."

"Okay, show me then," I countered.

"No."

"Fine." I walked away on that note. Even so, I kept looking back to her. I tried to see what weapon she was good with, but she always went to the nature skills stations. No matter where she went, she was always with that boy. He didn't deserve her. What about him made her like him? I didn't know, but I made a mental note to kill him first in the arena.

I watched Cato as he played around with swords. He was good. None of the trainers could come even close to his abilities. I'll admit that he intimidated me. Who wouldn't feel overwhelmed by the 6'2' sword wielding maniac? Clove was almost as scary, but in her own way. She was small, but she gave off the feel that she was plotting your death every second.

A few minutes later, Cato was yelling at a tribute. He accused the kid of stealing his knife, and was really pissed about it. I looked and saw that Katniss was looking up, so curiously I looked as well. I saw the tiny District Eleven tribute girl holding the knife up in a climbing net, smiling. I shook my head and laughed at his stupidity.

After that, I watched as Glimmer tried to shoot a target. She failed miserably, only hitting the target once every four or so tries. After the training day was over, everyone retired to their rooms. After I thought that everyone was asleep, I went on a walk.

I went to some stairs and started climbing. I climbed to the rooftop and was surprised to find someone already there. Her brown curls identified her immediately. I smiled to myself, as Bread Boy was nowhere in sight. I cleared my throat loudly so she knew that I was here.

"Can I help you?" she said, still turned towards the balcony.

"I was just taking a walk," I replied, and walked next to her. Her hair framed her pale face as she leaned on the railing. "The Capitol looks really cool at night."

"That's not the word I was thinking of."

"Oh?"

"They're psychotic. They actually enjoy watching children get killed. Of course, why shouldn't they? It doesn't affect them or their families at all."

"You're not excited for the games? Isn't fame, wealth, and eternal glory enough to drive you to win?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"No! The only drive that I have to win is Primrose. She needs me to protect her and care for her." Katniss's beautiful eyes twinkled when she talked about her sister. I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt again.

"What's wrong?" she asked. I turned to her.

"You really care for your sister, don't you?"

"I love her more than anything. She is the sweetest, most innocent little girl in our district. Everyone she meets loves her." A tear fell from Katniss's eye. She tried to wipe it away before I saw, but I caught her in the act. I put my arms around her.

"Don't cry, Katniss. Umm… There there?" I tried, and she laughed. I wasn't the best at comforting others. Reality hit her and she pushed me away.

"I wasn't crying."

"Let me guess, rain fell in your eye?" I joked, and she scowled.

"Leave me alone." Her voice was icy, and I figured it would be best to leave.

The next day we had to go to our individual training sessions. I was first, being the District One male tribute. I spent the whole time throwing spears at moving targets at various distances, I got really lucky and split one of the spears in half with another spear, and really impressed the gamemakers. As I left, I dusted my hands off and smiled. Hello, sponsors!

I waited in our apartment for the results. While waiting, I watched a dumb Capitol show about the newest animal fashions and how to make a scarf effectively match your pants. I was laughing just about the whole time. I was mostly laughing because Glimmer was taking most of the fashion advice seriously.

"Why do you care about animal print scarves?" I laughed. She shot me a look.

"I need to know some Capitol fashions for when I go on my victory tour, duh."

"You just keep telling yourself that, darling," I said. Glimmer would never win the games. She had charm and looks, but that wouldn't get her more than sponsors in the games, and sponsors couldn't kill tributes. I thought that the conversation was over, but Glimmer spoke again.

"What is it with you and that District Twelve rat?" she said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to sound surprised.

"Marvel, you dumbass, I'm not an idiot. You stare at her every time she comes near, and you look like you want to murder Peeta.

"Of course I want to murder Peeta. If he's dead, I can win the games," I answered smartly.

"Not the point. Marvel, can't you see? You're turning soft. What would your mother say? Loving a girl from the district that started your problems?"

"Don't you dare talk about my mother!" I yelled, ending the conversation. I knew she was right. My mother would murder me if she knew. I couldn't love Katniss. I had to kill her, like I would everyone else. Period.

Finally, the results came on. Caesar Flickerman, the announcer, went on and on about how amazing the Games were going to be this year. After about fifteen minutes of that, he got to the scores. My picture came on the screen, and the number 9 flashed next to it. Gloss and our stylists applauded me, and I sat with a smug grin. Glimmer somehow managed to get an 8. Cato and Clove both got a 10. There were no surprises until the tiny girl from District Eleven got a 7. I guessed that the Gamemakers had seen her little stunt. Finally, District Twelve's scores were announced. Bread Boy got a surprising 8, which made Glimmer ticked. Apparently he wasn't worthy of getting the same score as her. Not that I didn't agree, of course.

Then it was Katniss's turn. Her picture appeared next to Caesar, her gray eyes emotionless. The number that appeared next to her name shocked all of us.

"Katniss Everdeen, with a score of 11," Caesar announced.

"How in hell?" Glimmer yelled.

"Damn," I said. Katniss was hiding something. I was going to figure it out.

**I hope this chapter was better than the first. My main worry is that the story will be too short. I'm going for 40,000 words, so basically 10x this story so far. I don't know when the next update will be, but hopefully it will be soon.**

**-Katie**


	3. Ignition

**Hi guys! It's Katie. For a while, I thought that my story was horrible and that no one would like it. After all, I'm only in high school, it's not like I have super writing skills (yet). Then, I got my first review! (fangirl scream) That's why this is yet another quick update.**

**Toritwilight504- I'm so glad you liked it! I updated quickly for you **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, or these characters. Suzanne Collins does.**

Chapter 3: Ignition

I paced my room for the whole evening. How did she manage to get that score? I sat down on the bed and took a few deep breaths. I wanted to feel happy for her, but my anger got the best of me. She was a danger to me. If she really was more lethal than Cato, she could've prevented me from getting my normal life back. I knew I had to talk to her, and I knew exactly where to go. The run to the rooftop took half the time that it did the previous night. I rushed to the door, only to find Peeta alone on the rooftop. I tried backing away slowly, but he turned around and caught me.

"Marvel?" he said. "I know you were looking for Katniss."

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't." I smiled.

"Drop the act, because I'm not scared of you." He tried to sound brave, but his voice faltered.

"Oh, really Peeta? The fact that I can spear you like a kabob from fifty yards away doesn't scare you the smallest bit?" Now I was right in his face. He tried to say no, but he just shook his head. I laughed.

"What are you trying to do, Peeta? Protect Katniss? You couldn't protect her from a twelve year old if you tried! Maybe you should learn how to stand up for yourself first." I was pretty proud of myself, but then I looked to the shadows and saw Katniss standing there in shock. Had she heard all of that? Apparently she had, as she angrily stepped up to me.

"You know what, Marvel? Peeta has more sense and strength then you will ever have! You might be able to throw a stick, but you don't have the brains to do anything for yourself. I'd advise that you shut up before I shoot an arrow through your head!"

I raised my eyebrows. Shooting a bow? That was her game? Peeta gave her a warning glance, and she cursed under her breath.

"Arrows, huh? I guess we're both long distance fighters. We have a lot in common," I said teasingly.

"She has nothing in common with you!" Peeta yelled. His attempts at being brave were hilarious.

"Let's go, Peeta," Katniss said. She walked to the elevator behind Peeta, and pushed the button once he was in and stepped out.

"Katniss? What are you doing?" Peeta yelled, but the door was already closed.

"Okay, Marvel, listen up. I don't know what your game is, or why you're trying to annoy the hell out of me. I have no clue how to stop you. What do you even want?" she said, completely exasperated. I smiled, knowing I had broken her down.

"You could tell me how you got that score," I retorted. Katniss sighed.

"I don't know why I did it. I just… got so mad. They paid no attention to me, so I shot an arrow at them."

"You killed a Gamemaker?" I exclaimed.

"No, no it wasn't like that. I shot an arrow at an apple near their heads, but I got their attention."

"Wow, that took guts," I said without thinking. I cursed myself for sounding so nice.

"I was so worried that they would hurt me or my family for it, I couldn't stop crying. It took Peeta an hour to calm me down," she laughed. I scowled. Of course, Peeta was the one to calm her down. I had to hold down my rage as I thought about Peeta hugging my girl.

"_My girl? Where did that come from?_" I thought.

"At least they took it well," she said. "I can't imagine them hurting Prim." There it was again. Her protectiveness for her sister. I seemed like a coward compared to her.

"Marvel, seriously, what's wrong?" she asked. "Every time I talk about Primrose, you get this distant look on your face. Be honest."

I tried hard to resist her, but her gray eyes looked up directly into mine and I knew I was stuck.

"I had a sister, too." I said, ready to leave the conversation at that, but Katniss wasn't satisfied.

"What do you mean you _had_ a sister?" she pressed. I sighed.

"She was born when I was seven. A year later, a rebel invaded our house." I purposely left out the fact that the rebel was from District Twelve. "I tried to be the hero, and shoot the guy. He told me that if I shot at him, he would kill my sister. I thought that I could be quick and shoot before he had the chance to move, but he saw what I was doing. The next thing I knew, he had t-thrown her out the window." I didn't think I would get so choked up over it.

"Marvel…"

"Gemma was so young, and I let her get killed. I opened the door, I tried to be the hero, and I failed. Mom still won't talk to me."

"Marvel it's not your fault. It could have happened to anyone," she soothed. "You were eight! How much did your mother expect you to do?"

"She expected me to sacrifice myself for my sister. She never wanted a boy."

"My mother wasn't great either." Katniss murmured.

"What?" I asked.

"My dad died in a mine explosion when I was little. My mom couldn't emotionally handle it, so she tuned out everything. I was eleven, and I had to provide for everything for my family. That's how I learned how to hunt and shoot."

"That must have been hard," I said. She nodded. We stood in quietness. This was the longest time she had talked to me without running away in disgust. She had lived a tough life, way tougher than mine. While I still had a dad and a mansion, she had no adult to help her, and she was living in poverty.

She looked at me, and I took everything about her in. The way her braid wove its way around her head, the way her eyelashes fluttered when the wind blew. She was… perfect.

"Katniss, you're amazing," I breathed.

"What?" she said in shock.

I didn't let myself think before I put my lips on hers. Katniss freaked out and kneed me where the sun doesn't shine. I doubled over in pain, and slapped me.

"What the hell was that?" She screamed. "What game are you trying to play? Trying to trick me into trusting you and then kill me?" She stormed to the elevator and pushed the button. I stood in front of her to block her path. She pushed me away and went into the elevator, but I got in as well.

"What are you talking about? I tell you that you're amazing, tell you my secret, and you kick me where it hurts?

"This isn't a joke, Marvel. Now let me get out of the elevator.

"No!" I pushed the button to make the elevator stop.

"Marvel!" she yelled. "Let me out!"

"Not until you tell me what your problem is."

"My problem is that you're trying to play me in a way that… that I don't understand!"

"Katniss, I 'm trying to help you. I want you to join the Careers. I can protect you," I said. I had no clue what I was doing, or why. My mind was out of control.

"I don't need your damn protection. I can handle myself." She pushed the elevator button and left at the twelfth floor. This time, I didn't stop her. I went back up to my room and fell asleep.

The next day was all about preparing for interviews. My prep team spent three hours doing my hair, finishing my suit, and fussing over what color looked best with my eyes. I didn't say one word the entire time. I was too busy thinking about what I had done wrong with Katniss. I was never very good with girls, as they were all scared to talk to "the murderer". My only childhood friend, Lace, was reaped at the age of thirteen and was forced to withstand horrible desert temperatures during the day and snow and cold at night. Only three tributes lasted more than a week, and Lace was not one of them.

I still didn't say anything when they put my blue suit on. I walked to the waiting area, and saw Glimmer waiting. She was wearing a short, see through, and shimmery gold dress and tons of makeup to make her eyes look huge.

"Nervous?" I asked. Glimmer scoffed.

"Never. I live for this kind of stuff." I couldn't help but admire her confidence. Once Caesar was done talking, Glimmer was called on stage. He asked the basic tribute questions, and she responded with hair flips and a high voice. I rolled my eyes. Then it was my turn. I smiled and waved at the crowd, and found my way to the armchair. Caesar wasted no time.

"So, Marvel, how are you liking it here in the Capitol?" he asked.

"It isn't quite like home, but it's almost as nice," I joked. The crowd laughed along.

"What's your favorite part of the training?"

"I love to shoot spears, Caesar. It's my claim to fame, I guess you could say."

"Ah, he's strong and handsome, huh ladies?" he said, moving his eyebrows. The girls I the crowd went nuts. I blew a kiss in a random direction, and watched as girls tried to catch the air near them.

"So, tell me Marvel, what is your main drive to win the games? Besides living, of course!" Caesar laughed at his own joke.

"I want to win to bring pride to my family and district," I answered, avoiding talking about my mother.

"Of course. It looks like we're out of time! Marvel, everyone!" People applauded, and I shouted in pretend excitement. I walked off the stage, and was applauded by my team. We spent the rest of the night in our apartment, watching the other interviews. I made sure to watch it in my own room, instead of with the others. Clove and Cato both gave off an extreme aura of a murderer, but Clove hid it better.

I sat and waited through the boring interviews and almost changed the channel until Katniss went on stage. I whistled. She looked so beautiful in a floor length red gown that was covered in jewels. Her hair was in a well-styled bun, and a few strands of hair fell to frame her face. She wore little makeup, which of course she didn't need. I was too mesmerized by her to pay attention to the interview. I watched how she looked when she was nervous, and how her eyes sparkled with sadness when she talked about Prim. Then, she stood up and twirled. Her dress seemed to shoot off flames in each direction. Caesar made her spin so many times that she ended up getting dizzy. He helped her to stabilize herself and then helped The Girl on Fire off the stage. I didn't even notice that I clapped.

Then it was finally Peeta's turn. He went on the stage, reeking of fake confidence. I chuckled at his attempts to seem likeable. I didn't buy it one bit. Then, Caesar got to the touchy subjects and I sat up a little straighter.

"So, Peeta, is there a girl back home that you want to win for?" Caesar asked.

"Nah, not really," he replied.

"I don't believe it. What's the truth?"

"There is this one girl that I've known forever, but I don't think that she even knew that I existed until I was reaped."

"_Peeta had another girl? Gosh, he really doesn't deserve Katniss, the little traitor!_" I thought.

"Well, Peeta, you win these games, and I wouldn't be surprised if she marries you!" Caesar laughed, and the audience nodded in approval.

"No Caesar, that won't help me. If I win, that means that she'll die." The audience gasped. I threw a pillow at the television.

"That bastard!" I yelled. I ran back down to the hallway where the tributes waited to see Katniss at Peeta's throat.

"What the hell was that?" Katniss yelled. My words exactly. Peeta said a few inaudible words and she let him go. Once he was in the elevator, I walked over to the steaming Katniss.

"Didn't want to cheat on me, did you?" I teased.

"I'm not yours either, Marvel. I can handle myself."

"I can see that, but there's nothing wrong with a little help, Katniss." I countered.

"Go away, Marvel."

"I'm not keeping you here. If you wanted to, you could have left me right here," I pointed out. She gave me an infuriated look. I smiled.

"Didn't think about that, did you? I guess you really don't hate me as much as you say. I..." I never got to finish my sentence. Katniss ran to the elevator, and I could've sworn that there were tears in her eyes.

**Aww, poor Katniss. She just can't get rid of Marvel. **

**To recap: **

**Marvel had a messed up life, and winning the games can help him fix it**

**Marvel doesn't want to like Katniss, but he does**

**Peeta likes Katniss, but can't stand up to Marvel or protect her**

**Katniss is confused**

**Yay! The games are almost here. I won't be writing a lot in the next week because I have summer gym. I also need some help with ideas. If you have an idea, please message me!**

**Also, please please please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome!**

**-Katie 3**


	4. A Weakened Flame

**Hi guys! I tried to get this written as soon as I could. I've had a lot of summer gym, and my dog got really sick and I've had to watch her. Anyway, here's the new chapter!**

**Toritwilight504- I'm so happy that you liked it! I tried to update as quick as I could.**

**Purplerosefromyou- Thanks for reviewing! I hope you like this new chapter, too.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, and probably never will. **

Chapter 4: A Weakened Fire

I felt really bad about what I said to Katniss. Whenever I started talking, there was no way to stop me. I guess she wasn't as tough as I thought she was. I tried to go to bed, but it was another sleepless night. My guilt got the better of me, and I went to apologize. That was when I heard the scream. This time, I knew it wasn't a dream. I rushed through hallways, throwing open doors in my way.

"Stop it!" I heard Katniss scream. I found the door which she was behind, and stood there for a minute.

"Katniss, stop fighting!" I heard Cato growl. That made me snap. I threw open the door, and saw Katniss, bleeding and crying, on the wall trapped behind Cato, her dress ripped to shreds. I wasted no time. My body took over, and I pushed Cato off of her. She slid down the wall and put her head in her hands, still crying. I punched Cato square in the jaw, and he responded by yelling hitting me in the gut. It was strange, because I didn't feel any pain. I hit Cato continuously, only wishing I had a spear. Cato was furious, and roared in anger. Suddenly he stopped and looked at me.

"You watch your back, Marvel. You'll be my first kill. Don't even try to stay with the Careers, you idiot. I would have killed you earlier if I had known that you wanted to commit suicide!" he spat.

"Go away, Cato. I didn't want to be a part of your little death gang anyway." I looked at Cato, and he glared back. Eventually, he shook his head and left. I looked over to Katniss, who was looking at me in complete fear. I kneeled down next to her and looked her in the eyes. She was shivering, and her breaths were short and staggered.

"What did he do to you?" I asked gently. It took Katniss about three minutes to respond.

"H-he found me after I got off of the elevator. He saw that I was crying and pretended to be understanding. He took me to his room, and tried to get me to the bed and forcing me to kiss him. I- I fought, and he pulled out a knife and started threatening me and scratching my skin."

"Katniss, I'm so sorry. I wish I had gotten here sooner."

"I hate relying on others, Marvel. I owe so much already. The last thing I need is more debt."

"Who said my heroism cost anything?" I joked, and she gave me a sliver of a smile. I stood up and extended a hand to her. She took it and I pulled her up. Despite trying to cheer her up, she was still shaking with fear. I hugged her and pulled her close.

"Shh, Katniss, it's okay. He can't hurt you anymore. I will make sure of it." We stood there for a long time, and I died inside as she cried and I knew that I could have saved her.

The tube that surrounded me rose into a clearing of some woods. I looked towards the Cornucopia, which had abundant supplies teeming inside of it. My eyes caught some spears, and I saw Katniss looking at the bow. The voice counted down from sixty and I prepared myself to run. Cato glared at me from across the field. Clove had a sadistic grin on her face.

"1," the voice said, and I was off running. I was faster than the other tributes, and put two backpacks and my spears on my back. I had limited hand space, but I grabbed the bow as well. If I had it, Katniss would come looking for me. A blonde boy raced at me, but he was skewered with a spear before he could even get close to me. I ran off into the woods. I cleared my mind as I ran for miles, never stopping for more than a minute. Eventually, I felt happy with my position and set up camp. I opened my packs, taking inventory. I had some crackers, some dried fruit, iodine, knives, a canteen, a sleeping bag, and some rope. Also in there was a first aid kit. I made sure to put that and the other important supplies in one pack. I buried it and the bow under some leaves and put a distinctive rock over it so that I could find it.

I put a few spears and my pack on my back and started walking. I walked for a few hours until I reached a small lake. I filled my canteen with water and drank some myself. The boom of the cannons all sounded as I sat down. I counted eleven people dead. Eleven kids viciously murdered. I hated that I had already killed one of them, but I knew that it was necessary. I needed to get out of the games alive. As if on cue, the boy from three jumped out of the bushes, a knife in his hand. It wasn't even a second before a spear passed through his heart. I sighed and received the spear. The cannon boomed and the boy spat out blood. I took off his bag before the hovercraft got to him, and looked at the supplies. He basically had the same stuff that I had gotten; except for he had some night vision goggles and some wire. I took them both and the food and stashed it where I had hidden my supplies. I had to have as much equipment as I could get since Careers guarded the Cornucopia.

Night came quickly. I went back near the little lake and set up my sleeping bag. I put my hands behind my head as I stared up at the faces of the dead in the sky. As I looked at the picture of the boy that I killed, I noticed that he was very young. He couldn't have been older than fourteen. Guilt pushed its way to my mind, but I blocked it off and refused to think about him. No other surprises, until they reached the last district. High in the sky, clear as water, was Peeta's face. Memories of the blonde boy that I killed earlier came back. I had killed Peeta. Katniss would be so furious; she would never come near me ever again. That only gave me one choice. I had to go and her myself.

When I woke up, everything was as I left it. I got up quickly and started my hike. I was stopped in my tracks as a forest fire spread rapidly towards me. I heard a familiar scream, and went into panic mode. I couldn't just stop a fire with a spear. I ran straight towards it, dodging fireballs and falling trees as I went. Emerging from the forest was Katniss, who was making her way out of the fire. I noticed that she was going towards the main lake, where the Careers would be ready for her. Suddenly, a fireball was shot at her, hitting her in the thigh. She yelped in pain, and wouldn't get up. I ran towards her, and picked her up.

"Marvel?" she questioned. "What are you doing?" I didn't respond. I just kept running away from the fire. I stopped after a few minutes, and got my first real look at her leg. It was worse than I thought. Without proper care, it could give her blood poisoning.

"Is it really bad?" she asked, refusing to cry.

"Nah," I lied. "Some medicine would really help, though!" I said loudly, hoping Gloss would hear. It wasn't even five minutes before a silver parachute came down. I read the note from Gloss to myself.

_Keep up the hero acts. Sponsors eat it up. Keep your eyes on the prize, though._ _–G_

I crumpled the note up and threw it away. I opened up the gift and found some rich Capitol medicine. I wasted no time and applied it. Katniss winced as I spread it on her burn, but the whimpers were soon replaced with a sigh of relief.

"Better?" I asked. She nodded.

"Thanks, Marvel. For saving me."

"It was nothing," I said. I felt like I would've done anything for her. My brain wanted to hate her guts, but my heart did otherwise. We didn't say anything for a while.

"How many people are dead? I was asleep when they showed all of the pictures," she asked, changing the subject.

"13, including Peeta," I said. Katniss looked shocked.

"W-what? Peeta died? How?"

"I think he died in the bloodbath. It was probably quick and painless, though." Not a complete lie.

"I failed him. I was going to try and save him, to let him go home."

"Why? Don't you want to go back to Prim?" I asked.

"Yeah, but Peeta deserved to live. He saved my life before, and I was going to save his."

"Katniss, he wanted to protect you as well. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he knew that he killed you."

"Peeta wouldn't have killed me. Cato is going to," Katniss grumbled.

"What? He is still trying to get you? Why?" I asked, voice rising.

"He said that he had some "manly needs" that couldn't be satisfied with a girl like Clove. He expected me to go with it, but I resisted."

"It's okay, Katniss. He's all talk."

"No he isn't Marvel. You know that. He will find me, and I have no good weapon or skills to fight back."

"Yes you do!" I said, picking her up again to move towards my camp.

"Marvel, put me down! I can walk now." I wasn't about to take any chances. I put her on my back and raced back. I put her on the ground as I looked for the rock. When I pulled out the silver weapon, Katniss gasped.

"Why, Marvel? You don't shoot."

"I got it for you," I admitted, looking down.

"Stop it!" Katniss yelled.

"What's wrong?"

"You! You're the enemy! I don't need to be babied. I can do things on my own."

"There's nothing wrong with an alliance, Katniss. We can have our own."

"Alliance?" she said, thinking out loud. She gave me a look over, and then sighed.

"I guess I don't have too much of a choice here, do I?" she laughed. I loved the way she laughed. Her smile made her ten times more beautiful than she already was.

"Nope. There is one condition, though. No more of this "owing me" stuff. Everything I do, I do because I want to."

"Fine," she said. She took the bow and arrows from my hand and put it across her back.

"Do you think there is anyone else that we should ally with?" I asked. Katniss thought about it for a moment.

"I don't want to be too trusting. If they want to join, they have to prove themselves first." I agreed with that.

"What's our next goal?" I asked.

"Killing the Careers," she said, and smiled. I nodded my head.

"Cato is gonna pay," I answered.

**Yay! Four chapters done! No promises as to when the next chapter will be in, because I am going to see my Aunt Serena for two weeks starting Thursday. I will probably write short bits every now and then. Please review! I would love some ideas, all though some serious stuff is going to go down in a future chapter involving Cato. **

**-Katie **


	5. More than Just an Alliance

**I am so extremely very sorry for not posting a new chapter recently! *dodges bullet*. No worries, the wait is over! I am so happy, I got reviews from new people this time!**

**Disclaimer- This will go for the rest of the chapters. I do NOT own the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does. This is purely a fanfiction.**

**Toritwilight504- Thanks for the review! Don't worry, you won't have to wait to wait much longer ****. **

**Purplerosefromyou- I love Cato, and Kato stories, but every story needs an antagonist. I feel like the story is much better with Cato not having a soul than if he was nice Cato. I think I am going to write a Katniss/Cato fanfic once I'm done with this one.**

**Guest- I'm so glad that you like your first Marvel/Katniss fanfic! Honestly, I think it's horrible, but I guess that you're your own biggest critic. **

**Johanna-the-Axe-Girl- I am terribly sorry that I didn't update faster! I had a nine year old cousin who was begging for attention for two weeks, and I had teenage life to deal with during all of that. **

Chapter 5: More than Just an Alliance

The next day, Katniss woke up feeling sick. I made her stay at camp the whole day and rest while I got food and water. She hated it, but I threatened to tie her to a tree if she didn't. She needed to heal as fast as she could to survive. The next day, she threw up in the morning. She asked to be alone, so I left to the forest and waited until she came and found me. I waited for what seemed like hours, and I went back to find her crying.

"Katniss, what the hell happened while I was gone?" I asked, rushing to her.

"I… Cato… test…," was all that I could make out between her sobs. My eyes narrowed at the sound of the beast's name, but I didn't say anything.

"Katniss, calm down. Everything will be fine. Cato isn't going to do anything as long as I'm here."

"What he might do is not the problem! It is what he did do, the night of the tribute parade!"

"What?" I asked, completely shocked. That was the night that she had first talked to him, and made him angry. Katniss wiped her eyes and swallowed.

"Cato followed us into the elevator. He rode all the way up to our floor, and didn't let me off when Peeta got off. He forced me into his room…" Her voice quivered. "He raped me. I don't know where Clove was, or if she would have stopped him. The night you caught us was the second time he tried."

"Katniss, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Don't worry, because that is in the past now. After he dies, you can forget all about it."

"That's the thing, Marvel. I can't," she said, erupting into sobs again. "I'm pregnant."

"You're not positive though, right? I mean, you've had no affirmative ways to find out."

"While you were gone, I got a pregnancy test from Cato's mentor. He must have known what happened. Capitol tests never lie, Marvel. It's a girl," she said sadly.

I stood up angrily, knowing she was right. If his mentor knew what was going on, why didn't he stop him? I grabbed my spears and put them over my shoulder.

"That bastard is going to pay," I muttered.

"No, Marvel. You'll die out there. I… I need you. I can't do this alone." Katniss looked away, and I almost gasped. At that moment, five different parachutes came down at once. Four of them were for Katniss, filled with nausea medicine and other pregnancy things. The last one that came down was for me. I looked inside, but all that was in there was a note. I unfolded it and read it silently.

_ Kid, you're in trouble. If you die to save Katniss and the baby, people will be so touched that they will see evil in the games and rebel. If she dies pregnant, they will also get mad and rebel. Either way, you're screwed. Keep a low profile until I can figure out a way to keep you both alive. –Gloss_

I crumbled up the note and threw it in the fire Katniss had built.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, it just says to keep a low profile so that you and the baby aren't in any danger."

"I hate this. All of it. I need to win these games, but now I have more riding on it than ever. I can't get into any fights, which is how you win. Marvel, I can't do it."

I kneeled down so that I was right in front of Katniss where she was sitting.

"Katniss, yes you can. I'm here with you. You never have to even get close to an enemy, because you can just shoot them. Don't give up yet." I had no freaking idea where that all came from. I was never the sentimental type. Ever.

I was just about to get up when Katniss's lips came to mine. This was the first time that she had ever shown that she trusted me. I returned the kiss, and ran my fingers through her hair. We didn't pull apart until we were both gasping for air.

"Let's do this," she said, giving me a smile. A true, genuine smile.

We hid in the bushes, watching the girl from District Seven as she sharpened her axe. Katniss hid on one side, and I was across from her, with my spear. She gave me a subtle nod, and I gave her a signal that I was ready. An arrow whizzed by the girl's head, just enough to make her go running in Katniss's direction. I silently ran behind her, cautious of her axe, and thrust a spear through her back. Immediately, the girl went limp. I took my spear out and the cannon sounded. Katniss emerged from the foliage, and shuddered.

"What's wrong? Didn't you want to get rid of some tributes?" I asked.

"I know, it's just..." She stopped herself before she said something that she regretted and took the sentence a different direction. "I don't want for the baby to think of me as a killer," she decided on.

"Katniss, the child won't see you that way. Just explain to her what their daddy was like," I joked. She cracked a smile. We didn't say anything else, just silently went through the girl's supplies to see if there was anything useful. As we were going through the last pack, I heard some rustling up in the trees. Katniss apparently didn't hear anything, as she just kept going through the packs.

"I'll be right back," I said. I walked into the forest and heard it again. Then, I saw a tiny figure jumping from tree to tree. I ran underneath of the figure, and I realized that it was the tiny girl from District 11, Rue. I got my spear ready and aimed while running (which is a lot harder than it sounds), and was about to throw my spear when I heard "NO!" I stopped in my tracks, and so did the girl. The voice was coming from Katniss, who was climbing a tree to be near the girl.

"Katniss, be careful!" I yelled, but she didn't reply. She said a few inaudible things to Rue, and the little girl nodded. They came back down to the ground together and Katniss told me that we had a new ally. I gave her an _"Are you sure?"_ look, and she nodded curtly, telling me that the subject was not up for negotiation. I wasn't too thrilled that my Alpha Male status had been taken away, along with my alone time with Katniss, but I swallowed my pride. When we got back to camp, Rue said that she knew where some berries were, so she left to go get them.

"Why the hell did you want to ally with a twelve year old?" I asked.

"I don't know, I just didn't want to see her die," Katniss admitted. I rolled my eyes.

"Katniss, only you are going to make it out of here. The more people you get close to, the harder it will be to accept that," I told her.

"Don't say that! It makes me sound so selfish. If it wasn't for this baby, or Prim, I would have willingly died already. I don't think it's fair that you're putting myself before you, or your family. What will they do without you?"

"I don't want to put myself first. I'm not needed at home anyway. My mother probably celebrated when I got reaped so she could have revenge for what happened to Gemma."

Katniss was silent for a while.

"Gemma," she said.

"What? I asked, confused.

"They baby's name is Gemma. She deserves to live on, as do you."

**Again, sorry for the late update! I am having more and more writers block as time passes. I need some suggestions as to how they could both get out without starting a rebellion, or how the rebellion should go. I am starting school in six days, only four days before my birthday. It is going to be really hard to update, but if I get around 15 or so total reviews (There is already seven), I will try my best to make it quick. That would be a nice birthday present ****. Please give any constructive criticism you have or ideas or just fangirl/boy rants in your reviews! Thanks!**

**-Katie**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! I don't know how long this story will be. I'm at the point in the story where ideas aren't coming naturally and I have a really great idea for a new story but I have decided to push through it for now, so don't worry. Thanks for all of the reviews! Ideas are always helpful. Note- 14 are dead. I will tell you who is living at the end of this chapter.**

Chapter 6-

**Katniss's POV**

I had Marvel wrapped around my finger. He would do anything for me, at the snap of my fingers. He even gave me a bow. I didn't make it obvious, though. I pretended like I needed him, which wasn't a complete lie. I needed a Career like him to kill Cato, so that I could get out of here alive. All of my acting up to this point had been easy. All that I had to do to get him to trust me 100 percent was kiss him.

I hadn't used Marvel until the second night that Cato tried to rape me. Marvel burst in and stopped him, the only thing that I was honestly grateful for. After that, a light bulb went off in my head. Marvel was my ticket out of here. I started being in places where he would run into me, or just making sure that he would keep chasing me.

Not everything I've said and done was a lie. I really was surprised when I found out that I was pregnant, and the tears were real. Also, I meant it when I said that I needed him. Even so, I didn't need him for anything more than killing Cato. I had a perfect plan to get that to happen, though.

I told Rue everything. She is a large part of my plan. Now that Marvel has accepted her, everything is in place. Cato is also a part of my plan, but he doesn't know it. All I know is that he'll do exactly as I want. He is too arrogant not to. He won't kill me, no. I have angered him beyond that point. I might have to live through hell for the next few days, but it will be worth it in the end. I have to get home to Prim, and to save Aspen. Aspen is what I really named my child. The name Gemma was just for show.

I waited until it was almost dark to start my plan. I gave Rue a slight nod, and she returned the gesture. Rue went up to Marvel and asked if he would go and get some more water, as she was scared of the dark. We were about a 15 minute walk from the nearest water source, to make sure that no one who was looking for water found us. He curtly nodded, and Rue smiled.

"Be careful," she said.

"You too, little bird," I said, reminded of how I called Prim "Little Duck". After that, I took off running. I ran because I knew that I only had a small head start, because Rue was supposed to scream for Marvel once it had been twenty five minutes, just before he got back. Then, she was supposed to tell him that Cato ran for the caves, but I wasn't sure if Marvel would actually fall for that. The Careers always stayed near the Cornucopia. I ran until I reached the Cornucopia and pretended to steal supplies.

"Well, well, well, look who it is."

**Marvel's POV**

"Marvel!" I heard Rue scream. I raced back to her, and saw Rue in tears.

"Rue! What's wrong? Where is Katniss?" I said, picking the little girl up by her shoulders.

"Katniss… I was sitting… right here… and then…" she said in between sobs. She said a few more shaky sentences, nothing coming out that explained the situation. I set her down and waited for her to calm down.

"Katniss… was kidnapped by Cato," Rue finished, and I got to my feet.

"Oh shit, this is bad. Rue! Why didn't you get your own damn water! Then I could have stopped Cato, and none of this would have happened!" I regretted those words as soon as they came out. It wasn't her fault that this happened. I gave her a hug and apologized. She nodded in forgiveness.

"Alright, we have to go to the Cornucopia to get her back."

"Cato said that he was going to take her to a cave, over that way," Rue said, pointing in the opposite direction. At that point, I started to get suspicious.

"Why would Cato tell you where he was going?" I asked.

"Uh… I… was in a tree! I was about to go to sleep when I heard Cato. I was too scared to go down there, he would have killed me, Marvel." Rue smiled, but this was no smiling matter. That's when I knew something was up.

I'm going to check the Cornucopia first. There's a chance that he went there to go get supplies."

"Marvel, no! You're supposed to go that way!" Rue whined, then clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What did you say? I asked.

"I can't do it, Marvel! Katniss is…" was the last thing she said before going limp. A knife was through her chest, and the cannon boomed to confirm her death. Glimmer was right behind her. I grabbed a spear and prepared to strike.

"Hold it Marvel, you know that you want to hear what I have to say," she said, and smirked.

"You can talk, but if your hand goes to any of your knives you will be a Glimmer-kebob." I held my spear out for emphasis, and she raised her hands in surrender.

"You ever heard of the term 'Don't shoot the messenger?'" Glimmer asked. I nodded. "That applies here."

"I don't think that the messenger was supposed to kill my ally."

"Ally? What has she been good for? From what I just saw, she lied to you." I tensed but held my ground.

"She didn't tell you what was really going on. Girl on Fire left you. Betrayed you. She went to go find Cato, in hopes that you would go after her and kill him for you."

"She told you this?" I asked, unsure.

"I overheard her plan to Rue. I was going to kill the small girl anyways, because Cato has been taking all the glory. I was just lucky enough to see Miss Fireball with her."

"Y-You're lying," I accused. She was trying to turn me against my only ally left.

"District partners are supposed to be there for each other until the end. I don't know what happened to you, Marvel."

"I should say the same, Glimmer. Lying to me to lure me into a trap? That's low, too."

"Marvel, I was trying to help you!" she cried, desperately.

"I didn't want your help!" I roared, but I wasn't too sure about it. I didn't know what to think. My instincts told me that Glimmer was right, and I'd just been played this entire time. Maybe, if it had been Clove, I wouldn't have believed it. Since it had been Glimmer, I knew that the situation was bad. Glimmer was right. She wouldn't lie to me, she was my district partner. Either way, I knew that I had to find Katniss to find my answer.

I paced around camp for a long time, unsure of what to do. I knew that if Glimmer was telling the truth, that I would have to face Cato.

'_I'm going to have to kill him sometime,' _I thought. It was now or never. I grabbed my spears, my backpack, and walked off into the woods.

Katniss's POV

Where was that idiot? He was supposed to have come by now, and killed this monster. There was no other way to get rid of Cato, as he had stacks and piles of food and sponsor gifts at his disposal. It had been almost a day now, and as much as I hated to say it, I needed Marvel. Cato had tied me to a tree, and had not been subtle that he hated me. Every once and a while, Clove would throw a knife near my head, and she and Cato would laugh about it. Then, he would take that knife and gently put it against the skin on my arm, just barely making blood draw, smirking. No matter what, I never cried, or even whimpered. I would be strong for Prim. Finally, he would be done, but he'd always whisper that I would be his last kill, and that it would be long and torturous.

I realized that my plan was horrible in those moments. Not only had I made myself vulnerable, yet again, to Cato, but I was relying on a boy that I wasn't even sure I could trust. All for what? I thought about my family, Gale, and Aspen. Those were the only reasons I didn't let Clove hit me with those knives. I never knew what to do about the baby. I had two options: Tell the man-beast about his daughter and hope that he isn't angry about being a father, or not tell him and risk being killed. I opted for the second one. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, or more importantly, the baby.

I was thinking about home when Glimmer waltzed back into camp in the morning. She had been gone for the night, doing who knows what. Considering she never really liked me, I was surprised to see her coming my way.

"Katniss, your little plan has been foiled," she said, adding a smirk to the end of her sentence.

"W-what are you talking about?" I choked out. Glimmer clicked her tongue.

"Rue told Marvel about your little plan. Marvel knows. He's not coming for you, sweetie."

My whole world shattered in front of me. How could Rue have told him? We had a deal! I saw Rue's face in The Fallen, so I knew that Marvel must have gotten mad and killed her in the spur of the moment. The main reason that I was shocked was that he believed her. I thought he trusted me, but apparently he wasn't as ill-advised as I thought.

"Marvel… He betrayed me?" I whispered, and Glimmer laughed.

"Not any more than you did to him, darling. Karma bites."

Tears slowly slid down my cheeks. I no longer had any chance. I guess I couldn't blame Marvel. I would have been mad, too.

After about five minutes, I stopped crying. That wasn't going to make me feel better, nor win the games. I tried to reach where the knot was tied, but my fingers weren't long enough. My knife was with my backpack, all the way across camp. Then I remembered that one of Clove's knives was still next to my head. I turned toward it cautiously, being careful not to cut myself. My teeth could just barely reach the handle.

I turned towards the Careers, making sure they weren't watching. Cato was lounging around, sharpening his sword. Glimmer was with Clove, and they were arguing about how much food to stock up in case anything went wrong.

I grabbed the knife with my teeth and dropped it towards my hands. **(Okay, I think this deserves some explanation. You would think that if she was tied to a tree that her hands would be on the opposite side of her face, all the way around the tree. In this case, her waist and feet are tied to the tree and her hands are together in front of her. Back to the action.) **I caught it, but by the sharp side. I held in my yelp of pain as I turned it so I was holding the handle. I started sawing at the ropes, careful to stop the movement whenever someone looked. Eventually, I was able to get my wrists free. I quickly slashed the other ropes and ran for it, not worrying about my backpack.

"Hey!" Cato growled, leaping after me. Glimmer also came, not far behind. Clove remained at the camp, probably to guard the supplies. I ran for about two minutes, knowing that I was not fast enough to outrun Cato. Glimmer had slowed down, but Cato only kept going faster. I made a quick loop to buy some time and started climbing a tree. By the time Cato reached it, I was just barely ten feet off the ground. I stopped to look down, which was my fatal mistake. Cato had thrown his sword so that it sliced my ankle, making me lose my footing and fall to the ground. Cato retrieved his sword, and was about to deal the fatal blow when he was knocked off of me and pushed to the side. Someone from behind had jumped out and attacked him. He yelped in pain as a spear entered the side of his body. It wasn't fatal, but it was enough to knock him out. Another spear entered his body from the back and his cannon sounded.

"Marvel!" I said, surprised that he had come back for me. After all that I had put him through, he had come back to save me.

"Don't play with me, Katniss. I know what you've done, and how you've played me," he said, sounding hurt.

"Marvel, I…"

"You don't need to explain. These are the Games, and you have to do what you must to survive, even if it means hurting someone who genuinely cared about you."

"Marvel, I'm sorry!"

"There's no need to start acting. I know you're not sorry. I'm glad Glimmer told me. I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to fall for your trick." Guilt stabbed me in the chest. Prim would not be proud that I won the games that way. Glimmer finally arrived.

"I'll be nice this time, but next time, I won't think twice about killing you."

"You're letting her go?" Glimmer asked, shocked.

"I want her to regret what she did before I kill her," Marvel said. He walked away, not looking back. Glimmer stayed behind to chat with me.

"Shouldn't have played him like that," she smirked. "Marvel is mine, and don't you forget it." She walked away, going towards Marvel's direction.

I fell down to the forest floor. Nothing was in my favor. I had been back where I started, with no food, water, or bow. This time, I didn't even have Marvel.

Crap.

**Alright, here is that chapter. Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? A whole lot of betrayal went down in this chapter, and poor Marvel is in the middle. What will he do? Review your guesses! No promises when my next chapter will come out, but I won't make you wait forever.**

**-Katie**


	7. Chapter 7- The Triangle of Fire

** Hi guys! New chapter! Some of the unimportant characters died without you knowing. I was getting confused, so I just left the important ones. Also, the games won't last much longer. The story was supposed to be more based on after the games than before.**

**Review Responses**

**I am only going to thank the ones who reviewed before the last chapter. **

**THANK YOU! Every time I see someone who enjoys my story, I feel so glad that I was able to bring joy to at least one person. (Even if it was through the Hunger Games)**

** .315- Thank you for the nice review! It did brighten my day.**

**Toritwilight504- I am eternally grateful for your dedication to this story. Thank you for your numerous reviews! Well, as mean as Katniss seems, this is the Hunger Games. I will agree that I feel bad for Marvel. He didn't deserve that. **

**Tajmina- I know, right? I'm, glad I was able to sway your opinion!**

**The Living: **

**Marvel**

**Glimmer**

**Clove**

**The boy from 3**

**Foxface**

**Thresh **

**Katniss**

**Chapter 7**

**Marvel's POV**

I felt utterly betrayed. After all I had done for her, Katniss had used my Career powers for nothing but to kill Cato. All she cared about was herself. How could I have been so stupid? I needed to win these Games. That was the only option. I would eventually forget about my broken heart, and all would be well again. Glimmer and I walked back to the Cornucopia. We knew that we had to be careful what we told Clove, because if she figured out that I had killed Cato, I would be dead for sure. We decided to tell her that it was Katniss, because that made the most sense. Right before we got back, the fallen was shown in the night sky. Cato's face was the only one that shimmered as we walked through the forest.

Shortly after, we heard a scream. I gave Glimmer a confused look, and we both dashed back to the Cornucopia. When we got back, we saw a scary sight. Clove was having a nervous breakdown, crying and throwing knives everywhere. Sadly, the Career's old ally had been one of her targets. He laid limp on the ground, just barely living. The wound in his stomach was bad, and I kneeled down to him.

"Marvel," he coughed. "Please, make it stop!" I nodded. I took a spear, and stabbed him to end his pain. His cannon went off immediately, and I knew I had done the right thing. That boy's life would've been miserable, and he might have only lasted another day or so.

Glimmer went in to go talk to Clove, and I stayed out of sight. Girls could somehow magically calm each other down. Crying girls had never been my thing. I felt a pang in my chest as I remembered how I had made Katniss smile when she was crying after Cato had raped her.

'_No'_ I thought to myself. _'Katniss is nothing but a back-stabber'_ I sighed and went to check on the supplies. I was careful to avoid the mines that the boy from District 3 had placed to protect our food. I grabbed an apple and bit into it. The sweet juice flooded my mouth, and I was calmed instantly.

After about half an hour, Clove had stopped her emotional breakdown and gotten on with her life. By "gotten on", I mean coming to tell me off.

"So you've finally realize who your real friends are, Marvel. I heard that Fire Wench dumped you pretty hard." Clove smirked, and I growled.

"Go away, Clove. I don't need to talk to any girls right now," I sneered. Clove chuckled, but Glimmer looked hurt. She walked up so that she was eye to eye with me. Well, I was so tall that it was more like eye to chin.

"You know, Marvel, not all girls are evil."

"I haven't seen much arguing proof."

"Maybe you haven't been looking in the right places. Evidence could be right in front of you."

"I'm done looking. I'm going to win these Games, and live in solitude in the Victor's Village."

"Marvel, you idiot! I love you!" Glimmer cried. I took a step back. When did this happen? She went on her tiptoes to kiss me. I didn't quite reciprocate the kiss, but I made no efforts to stop her. I was so conflicted, I didn't know who my heart was with. Glimmer was right there, and had been with me through it all, I just never noticed her. Katniss… was a different story. I felt like I still loved her, even after what she had done.

"Glimmer…" I started.

"Marvel, Katniss is no good for you! She doesn't and never will understand you like I do. She betrayed you, and all for what? Her sister? You showed her nothing but compassion, and she turns around and uses you. I've been here the whole time, silently praying that you will take a hint!"

"Glimmer! Snap out of it! We're in the Hunger Games. Only one can come out alive. I can't let my feelings get in the way again."

"Don't you think I know that? I just… was hoping that we could be in an alliance until it was just us. Even if I die, Marvel, I want to spend my last few moments with you." A tear slid down her cheek. I nodded and hugged her. She really had been there for me, through it all. When the time came to declare the winner, I knew that I would have a bit of hesitation killing her. Even so, I was getting out of the Games alive. I gave Glimmer a reassuring hug, which seemed to stop her tears. We got some sleeping bags from the supply stack and spread them out inside the Cornucopia. We had received some heavy rain the past few nights, so we all decided that shelter was best. Glimmer put her bag close to mine, and she nestled to my side.

"What's the plan?" she whispered to me. I thought about it for a moment, and I said out loud so Clove could hear as well.

"I think we need to get rid of Thresh." I felt Glimmer nod.

"Once he's out of the way, our only real competiton is Kitty-Kat. We should go hunting tomorrow," Clove agreed. We decided that no one would take watch, because we would wake to the sound of footsteps in the Cornucopia and we had weapons lying beside us.

Footsteps weren't what woke us all up. What woke us up was the sound of a nuclear explosion, one that could only be triggered from a bomb, or in this case, mines.

Once the explosions stopped, we raced out to see what had happened. All of our supplies had been blown up, nothing was spared. We also found the body of the girl with red hair from District 5. That stupid girl had stepped on a land mine and killed herself.

"Our food!" Glimmer cried. She started rummaging through the ruins, trying to find anything that could be salvaged. We had the sleeping bags, packs, and weapons that were in the Cornucopia with us, but that was about it. I walked over to the Girl from 5, curious as to why the hovercraft hadn't picked her up yet. I didn't look very hard, just for a few seconds. I was about to walk away when a silver parachute appeared from the sky.

_The Gamemakers are trying to tell you something. Look more carefully. Keep the triangle alive until the last minute. –G_

Inside the parachute was some basic supplies, to help us cope after losing our supplies. I set it down and raced over to the girl again. I saw that she was lying in an awkward position, her one shoulder raised significantly above the other one. I turned her over to reveal a silver arrow. It hadn't been the fatal blow, but it had caused her to fall on a land mine.

"Katniss did it," I murmured. Glimmer, who had given up trying to find supplies, gave me a confused look.

"Katniss shot the girl, making her fall on a land mine. Katniss has her bow back."

"That means… she can't be far from here," Clove said. We didn't take a second to agree on a plan. We grabbed our weapons and sprinted towards the forest. We didn't have to worry about leaving someone to guard because we had nothing really to guard. Once we got to the edge of the forest, we decided to split up.

"Katniss is the only one we have to worry about," I said. "Thresh is in the wheat fields." The girls nodded and we ran.

I had always loved to run, so running for miles was a breeze for me. I looked left and right, and up in trees. Katniss was nowhere to be found. I had just about given up until I saw a cave. It was hidden behind some bushes, and had a stream next to it. A person could survive here as long as they wanted without having a lot of real problems. I was careful not to make any noise as I crept up along the cave. I could hear her breathing heavily, probably from the long run she did. I took out my spear and looked inside. Her bow was lying near the entrance, to my pleasure. I quietly pushed it all the way outside so that she would have to get past me to get it, which wasn't going to happen.

"Nice to see you again, Kat," I said. She gasped, and she turned around. Her eyes were full of fear and sadness.

"Marvel, what?"

"Did you really think that I was going to let you blow up our supplies and get away with it?" I asked, with a smirk.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please. I thought we were through with all of the lying. I saw the arrow in the girl's shoulder. The only person who has super accuracy here is you."

Katniss remained quiet. Her eyes scanned the cave, obviously looking for her bow.

"Looking for that?" I asked, gesturing to the bow that was ten feet behind me and my spear. "I thought so." She still remained silent. Why was she being quiet? Now was the time that she was supposed to apologize for everything that she'd done, and beg for mercy!

"Any last words?" I asked. Still, she said nothing.

"Damnit Katniss! Say something!" I yelled. I was sick of her games.

"Go ahead, Marvel. Kill me."

**Ooh, cliffhanger! I'm sorry this chapter was a bit short, but hey, you got two in one day! So, are you Team Glimmer or Team Katniss? Please review!**

**-Katie**


	8. Chapter 8

**Glimmer's POV**

"_Get out there and stay out until you can actually use one of those weapons. No daughter of mine will fail her academy classes," my father said as he pushed me into the training woods of District One. I picked up a sword but found my muscles not strong enough to actually swing it. The knives seemed easier, so I picked a few up and walked around the trees. I threw a few at a training squirrel, a special stuffed robot that would just run around in circles. I missed every single time. I wished that I could see actual animals, but I would never find any. The Capitol had banned us from going outside of the District to the actual woods. The greedy people from the Capitol had killed off all of the animals within a 200 mile radius to themselves, and we happened to fall into that._

_I went back to the weapon supply area and tried a spear. It seemed to be the perfect weight, and I thought that it might be my best bet to kill anything. I attempted the throw at a nearby target, but it fell two feet short. I huffed. My father would disown me at this rate. How could he be so hard on me? I was only eight! _

"_You'll never hit anything if you throw like that," a voice from behind me said. I twirled around to see a boy, around my age with light brown hair. "You have to use the muscles in the top of your arm, not your wrist."_

_I tried his method and still missed the target. _

"_I'm hopeless!" I whined, throwing the last spear on the ground. _

"_You're not hopeless, you just don't believe in yourself. Using a weapon is half skill, half confidence."_

_I picked up the spear again, and tried to throw with confidence. It flew three feet below the target's bottom. The boy smirked._

"_Maybe the spear just isn't your weapon. Only the strongest of the strong can use it, I guess. He took the spear I threw first off of the ground and threw it at the target with perfect accuracy. _

"_Oh yeah? Only the fastest can beat the strongest of the strong out of the forest," I said, taking off. My blonde curls bounced behind me as I ran._

"_Hey!" the boy yelled. "You got a head start!" Despite my head start, the boy put up a fight. He was only a few feet behind me when I reached the end of the forest. _

"_I have to admit, you are pretty fast, but you wouldn't have won without that head start." He extended his hand. "I'm Marvel." I shook his hand._

"_Glimmer." We continued trying weapons until my mother came out to get me._

"_Come on, Glimmer. Your father has cooled down a bit. It's time for dinner."_

"_Aww Mom, five more minutes?" I pleaded. _

"_No, we have to go." I waved goodbye to Marvel and went back home with my mother._

_**A month later…**_

_My father never lightened up. No matter how good my grades were in math or history, he didn't care. All he cared was that I still wasn't up to par with the other kids when it came to using weapons. Every day, he would send me out of the house to the training woods and tell me not to come back until my mother got me. I was always upset, because even though I had gotten pretty good with a bow he was never satisfied. The only person that could ever calm me down was Marvel. Every day he would meet me in the woods and help me with whatever weapon I tried to use. In just a month, we had become great friends. One day, he wasn't there. I checked around every corner to see if he was there, but he wasn't. Finally, half an hour before my mother came, he came. His eyes were red and puffy, and his head was down._

"_Marvel, what's wrong?" I asked. He looked at me, and didn't say anything. He went straight to the spears and threw them all with an angry force. Just as he was about to pick up the last spear that was in the bin, I took it before he could._

"_Hey, give that to me. You can't even throw it ten feet!" he said furiously. I shook my head._

"_Tell me what happened, and I will give it to you."_

"_A rebel happened. They got my baby sister, and it was all my fault. Now give me the spear." I reluctantly gave it to him. I wanted to ask more questions, but it was obvious that he would never answer them. _

_Marvel was never the same after that. I never gave up on him, though. Other kids teased him, calling him weak for not killing the rebel. Mothers held pulled their children away from him, scared that he would somehow cause them to die. I continued to try and talk to him, but he wouldn't answer. One day, a year later, I got sick of it. _

"_Marvel, just because your sister died from a rebel does not mean that it was your fault! Just get over it!" _

"_Glimmer, just stop! All you've done this past year has been annoy me, ask me questions that I didn't want to answer, and try to tell me that what I have done isn't evil! My sister is dead! You're worse than the kids who tease me." I gaped in shock. How dare he? _

"_When you're over it and missing having someone actually talk to you, don't come back to me." _

_I ran all of the way home. I ignored my father's yells and cried in my room the whole night. I used to have other friends, but they all left me because I refused to betray and tease Marvel. Even so, I could never find myself to hate Marvel. I watched him train from behind trees every day, waiting, hoping to see a change in him. _

_Then, when we were 13, he came into training with a smile on his face. I was about to go talk to him when I saw him with another girl. I recognized her as Lace, a girl from my academy classes. They were training and laughing with each other. I decided to go up and talk to them because I was tired of just watching from behind the trees. Marvel turned to me first._

"_Hi, Glimmer. I haven't seen you in a while." My heart skipped a beat. 'He isn't still mad at me?' I thought. I smiled. _

"_Yeah, it's been a long time."_

"_Have you met my girlfriend, Lace?" I turned to her and froze. Lace? If I recalled correctly, she had been one of the girls that had teased Marvel behind his back. What made her so special? _

"_Yeah, I know Lace," I said, trying not to grimace. We had a bit more small talk until I politely excused myself to go shoot some arrows. No matter how hard I tried, I missed every time. I would always get distracted by the sounds of them laughing or of Lace applauding whenever Marvel hit the target on the bulls-eye, which was almost every time. This went on for weeks, until the reaping. _

_Lace was chosen as the girl. Marvel begged her to try, but I think he knew that she would never make it, because the male tribute was a six and a half foot 18 year old. I didn't know what to think when Lace died. Part of me was excited because I could now pursue Marvel, and the other part of me felt extremely guilty. Marvel had reentered his state of depression. _

_Eventually, I forced myself to try and get over him. I decided that if he insisted on wallowing in his self-pity, then I wasn't going to stop him. As I got older, boys started following me and asking me out. My dad had given up on me, and I didn't care. I still had my mother, and she was all that I needed. There still wasn't a day that I didn't think about Marvel. He continued to be my secret crush, but I refused to talk to him. It wasn't like he tried to talk to me, anyway. _

_Every time I thought that I had gotten over him, my heart was reminded of the guilt that he had over his head, and all that he had been through. Even his mother never treated him the same. The only girl that he had ever loved, he was forced to watch her die. He never realized that I was always there, behind the trees, too shy to talk to him again._

_The day we were reaped was an uneventful one for me. Many boys came to say goodbye, secretly hoping that I would remember them when I became Victor. My father actually came, and said that if I won that he would forgive me. I didn't care. The only reason I cried that day was because I knew that I couldn't get both me and Marvel out. I vowed that day to not be the reason that Marvel died, but to also try and win myself. Deep down, I knew that I would do anything to save him._

** Sorry about not answering the cliffhanger, but it had come to my attention that readers didn't know why Glimmer liked Marvel, so I decided that I needed a background information chapter. So, after you've seen this, Team Katniss or Team Glimmer? This was a short one, but I think it covered everything it needed to.**

**-Katie**


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